


Quince

by Kuripuri



Series: Flower Prompts Collection [6]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Dunwall, Other, bonecharm, flower prompt, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 14:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12390297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuripuri/pseuds/Kuripuri
Summary: A man working at the docks in Dunwall finds himself entranced by a bonecharm and dives to his death.Quince- temptation





	Quince

**Author's Note:**

> short prompt from my tumblr; tyvian-whaler.tumblr.com  
> im not very satisfied with this but it took me forever and theres nothing else in me so it is what it is. please forgive any typos or mistakes, or let me know so i can fix it! thank you! hope you enjoy!

He's not sure when it begins. All he knows is that he's cleaning the engine when he thinks that someone is calling for him but it's late at night and no one else is there. He thinks for a moment that maybe the lantern is hissing out its last flames and the oil needs changing but the light is still bright and not flickering so it can't be that. He tries to pinpoint where the noise is coming from but he can't decide the direction and it's faint enough that it doesn't really bother him.  
  
If someone's looking for him, they'll just have to come get him.  
  
He takes his time with each part of the engine, carefully pulling it apart to put it back together. He likes the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the ship and prefers to work in tune with it on a good night.  
  
The rest of the boys call him crazy, says he'll find himself killed one day when someone tries to rob or take the boat but he knows how to handle himself. Worst case he'll just dive overboard and let the thieves off with what they want but even so it doesn't change that he just works better at night.   
  
A little while passes and he starts feeling hungry so he pauses his work to bring up his lunch. As he slowly chews through his sandwhich he can't ignore the feeling that his attention is required somewhere else, despite how he strains to hear anything above the waves. The night is silent as usual but it keeps eating away with him until he decides to see what's going on.  
  
The dock is eerily quiet and still, it seems he's the only one working late that night, but he can feel it stronger now. It's almost as if he's not in control over his body when he walks to the railing to look into the water.  
  
The water is dark and the little light the moon gives isn't helping but still he scouts the water  to find... something. Something's calling him. Who's calling him?  
  
It keeps getting more intense, the need to... What? In the water he can vaguely see something gleaming but it's impossible at that distance and in this kind of darkness but there's something there and it's more than just the moonlight on the soft waves.    
  
He leans forward in a pathetic attempt for a better view and he knows there's nothing there, nothing he can see anyway, but his eyes are fixed at a spot and the calling gets louder. What is it? He's tempted to take the boat out there but the engine is still not done and he's suddenly afraid to take his eyes off of it.  
  
What if it dissapears? He has to know what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes locked on nothing at all in the water as he guides his way up on the docks with his hands. It feels important, somehow. It's calling for him specifically and he has to find it even though there is a rational voice in his head telling him to stop.  
  
There's nothing good in the water, especially at night, but not even the strongest man in Dunwall would be able to stop him from reaching the end of the docks. The water is so dark and he can feel himself getting lulled by the soft waves, the gentle sound of the water moving against the concrete and stone.   
  
He keeps staring at a spot and there has to be something there, how else can he explain how it compels him? And does it have to be bad? He's survived a plague and the death of his wife, even managed to get through Hiram Burrows' unfair rule; he's suffered a great deal and maybe the universe is finally bestowing something good unto him.   
  
It feels good.  
  
Whatever it is, it sounds sweet and warm, and he can't hear any voices but he knows it's beckoning him to swim out there. Against his better judgement he takes a dive. The freezing water startles him back to sanity but he's already taken the leap and now he's more curious than wary.   
  
He knows how to swim and he has a knife in his boot, worst thing that can get him, he wagers, is the cold but the thing can't be that far out and he has dry clothes and a blanket on the boat. He swims up for air quickly, scrambling with his arms and legs to push himself up.   
  
Maybe he's gone mad. It would certainly explain things. But if he is then he won't settle until he finds out anyway and maybe there is something out there. Maybe someone is out there. What if he's been hearing someone cry for help as they drown; would he be able to live with that?  
  
Nevermind that he hasn't heard a scream or cry, or any human voice for that matter. The water stops burning on his skin once he gets used to the chill and he takes a deep breath before he starts swimming forward.   
  
A part of him keeps fighting the urge to keep going but whatever it is it has a hold on him and it's pulling him in now. It's out of his control and he keeps pushing his hands in the water infront of him to paddle himself forward, slowly but steadily. The cold has made his skin numb but not so that it threatens his safety and he's not worried.  
  
Once he swims to where he believes is just above it, he takes a moment to look down. He tries to be still, moving his arms and legs as softly as he can as to not disturb the surface too much, and he even holds his breath. He still can't see anything but he's sure there's something shining down there.  
  
If it's a beast it ought to have attacked him by now and he doesn't think it is but he pulls up his knee to find the knife hidden in his boot just to be safe. He puts the knife between his teeth and bite down before he takes a final deep breath and submerge.  
  
The last piece of his sanity asks him what he thinks he'll find, what he'll even see in the darkness, and if it's worth risking pneumonia, hypothermia or both but it's so close and it's so loud. It fills him with thoughts that has terrified him before but comforts him now like a soft blanket, warm and soothing, and he's getting more desperate to reach it.  
  
The water is deeper than he thought it'd be and he knows he won't have air enough if he keeps going but _it's so close!_ It's right there and it's singing to him, it's been singing all along and it's the most enchanting song he has ever heard and he can see the void glowing in the darkness.  
  
He's reaching with his arms beccause he's not sure how much further away it is and he's running out of oxygen. The pressure that far down is hurting his ears and his lungs feel like they're breaking but it's there now. He can see it. He can feel its warm energy touching his fingertips and it's singing inside him.   
  
He digs through bones and rocks until he reaches sand and he would keep going until he hits the center of the earth but his body is going limp. Everything aches, his head and his chest especially, and his fingers have cuts from digging so vigorously and a shiver of panic moves through him as the world goes dark.  
  
The pain dissapears and so does his worry, nothing exists but the bones tied together with the void at the bottom of the ocean. He can't hold his breath anymore but he's doesn't have to, it's too late.   
  
He doesn't feel anything as the water fills his lungs and he's still reaching for the bones but his body slumps together and he starts drifting back to the surface. The singing continues when his eyes roll up in his skull but it's singing for someone else now, for someone to finally come and take it out of the ocean.


End file.
